Saturday, October 24, 2009

Remembering Pepper's Big Day



Dorene's dog Pepper was about a year old when she killed her first groundhog at the community garden. A few days later, Pepper got seriously injured by a mentally deranged Dalmatian, and a lovel child by the name of Kiara did a "Get Well" card out of pastels for Pepper, reminding him of his Big Day with the groundhog when life was so much sweeter.

Pepper is a rare Appalachian Mountain Collie, a dog made famous by Dr. Thomas Walker who had four of them with him on his 1850 expedition which discovered the Cumberland Gap.

One of those dogs, owned by Ambrose Powell, was killed by an elk, and Run Tumbler's Creek was later named after the dog.
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2 comments:

Rocambole said...

Heh, heh, heh -- I learn so much from this blog! ;-D

A little Virginia-centric on the history there, which is probably a hat-tip to "considering the source." :-)

However, if I'm able to purchase the farm I have my eye on and am able to add another A. Mountain Collie, "Tumbler" looks like a good name -- I'll definately keep it in mind.

Dorene

PBurns said...

I just report canine history as it happened.

I could not possibly make this stuff up.

I even provide links! Who can doubt?

I should have noted, however, that there is a very old portrait by Titian that shows an Appalachian Mountain Collie in the left corner, under a table.

The fact that Titian was dead a few years before America was discovered by Columbus is one of the reasons many canine scholars believe Leif Ericson really discovered America around 1000 AD.

P.